Turin vs Beelzebub

According to a popular story now lost in time, a fearful dragon once lived at the gateway to the Turin area, and was the terror of local people. One day, an exasperated peasant charged his bull against the monster, hoping to scare it well away from his friends and their herds. The bull won, but later died from the injuries it received in the furious battle.

Another legend had it that a dragon and a bull once united to save the people of Turin living along the river Po. During the worst flood in recorded memory, a dragon in the river’s water shored up the banks with its enormous body, preventing the river from overflowing and washing away the little settlements along it, while the fury of a bull forced the inhabitants and their herds to flee to a safer area. By popular acclaim, the bull became a symbol of Turin. The dragon also found a worthy space in the newborn Turin.

The Bull and the Dragon are still among the most common architectural decorations outside the city’s buildings, and in the public gardens for the enjoyment of little children, as well as in numerous museums.

Is the dragon bad or good? Turin is divided on this point too. Some have seen it a symbol of evil, a friend of the underworld and an allegory of Beelzebub, while for others it has been a representation of justice, the cosmic force, and a kind ally of humanity.